Cannabis Sativa

Cannabis in American Samoa

Cannabis in American Samoa is completely illegal, and the American Samoan government advises that there is a mandatory minimum sentence of five years imprisonment, a five thousand dollar fine or both for possession of any amount of illegal drugs including marijuana even if prescribed legally in another jurisdiction.[1] Legislation mandating the minimums passed in the Territory in 1999, with one man receiving a 5-year sentence without probation or parole for one count marijuana possession that October.[2]

The 2001 American Samoa Drug Threat Assessment produced by the National Drug Intelligence Center notes that marijuana is the most widely abused illegal drug on the island, though at 25% for youth lifetime use, its prevalence is just over half that of mainland America’s 47%.[2]

Marijuana grows wild on the island,[3] and is produced locally for local consumption, as well as smuggled in by ship from the nation of Western Samoa,[2] though otherwise there is little evidence of cross-national trafficking of marijuana in Oceania as most regional countries are self-sufficient in its supply.[3]